No so long ago I hear that apple juice contained arsenic:
"Consumer Reports also found that the majority of the arsenic in the tested juice was inorganic, the kind to cause cancer."
"Dr. Oz discovered that some of the nation's best known brands of apple juice contain arsenic"
Soon later I read that the FDA was confident overall on the safety on apple juice.
I went to check today and I found this website:
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/safety/story/20...
Where it says:
"I don't think I can emphasize enough the dangers of the arsenic in these juice boxes that are sitting on our shelves in our homes," said Pallone, the senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on health.
I am at lost, is it safe or not. If it is not, what kind of juice are you giving to your kids or no juice at all?
Forgive my ignorance, and please explain deeper. So arsenic is on all juices and the apple itself? And is not dangerous? Of course too much sugar is not good, which I get that and we low the intake of juice or diluted on water, but the arsenic thing is something I am having trouble understanding. I hear arsenic and to me it sounds bad, but you are saying is not to bad, or that is too little to worry? and perhaps in apples, no just apple juice but apples?
Arsenic is in everything. The government would swoop to the rescue if there was any danger what so ever. It would make them look like they cared.
Arsenic is NATURALLY occurring several fruits - apples, grapes, etc.
It is called MODERATION - if you drink a gallon of apple juice a day - yeah - you might have a problem. But if you drink ONE 8 ounce glass a day - you are fine.
EVERYTHING IN MODERATION.
This isn't just about the fact that naturally occurring arsenic has always been found in apples. It goes WAY deeper than that. We can't delude ourselves.
LOTS of it is incurred from agricultural & industrial sources!
This info is from Consumer reports:
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Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that can contaminate groundwater used for drinking and irrigation in areas where it’s abundant, such as parts of New England, the Midwest, and the Southwest. See the map from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) showing test results of arsenic levels in groundwater throughout the United States.
But the public’s exposure to arsenic extends beyond those areas because since 1910, the United States has used roughly 1.6 million tons of it for agricultural and other industrial uses. About half of that cumulative total has been used since only the mid-1960s. Lead-arsenate insecticides were widely used in cotton fields, orchards, and vineyards until their use was banned in the 1980s. But residues in the soil can still contaminate crops.
For decades, arsenic was also used in a preservative for pressure-treated lumber commonly used for decks and playground equipment. In 2003 that use was banned, (as was most residential use) but the wood can contribute to arsenic in groundwater when it’s recycled as mulch.
Other sources of exposure include coal-fired power plants and smelters that heat arsenic-containing ores to process copper or lead. Today the quantity of arsenic released into the environment in the United States by human activities is three times more than that released from natural sources, says the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
The form of arsenic in the examples above is inorganic arsenic. It’s a carcinogen known to cause bladder, lung, and skin cancer in people and to increase risks of cardiovascular disease, immunodeficiencies, and type 2 diabetes.
The other form that arsenic takes is organic arsenic, created when arsenic binds to molecules containing carbon. Fish can contain an organic form of arsenic called arsenobetaine, generally considered nontoxic to humans. But questions have been raised about the human health effects of other types of organic arsenic in foods, including juice.
Use of organic arsenic in agricultural products has also caused concern. For instance, the EPA in 2006 took steps to stop the use of herbicides containing organic arsenic because of their potential to turn into inorganic arsenic in soil and contaminate drinking water. And in 2011, working with the FDA, drug company Alpharma agreed to suspend the sale of Roxarsone, a poultry-feed additive, because it contained an organic form of arsenic that could convert into inorganic arsenic inside the bird, potentially contaminating the meat. Or it could contaminate soil when chicken droppings are used as fertilizer. Other arsenic feed additives are still being used.
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You can read the entire article here, as well as see a .pdf file of actual arsenic in popular juice brands:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/01/arsenic-in-you...
Hey--maybe the "greenie weenies" are right after all that more needs to be done to protect our food and water sources from irresponsible agricultural and industrial practice?
Arsenic occurs naturally in apple juice. The main concern about having children drink a lot of apple juice is the high sugar content.
Consumer Reports recommended limiting your child to one juice box a day and that's pretty much what I've been doing.
When Dr. Oz made his announcement, just about every major news program had health experts saying that the arsenic he spoke of was not the dangerous kind.
Senators and Representatives who sit on committees are not experts in that field. They are politicians. It's very possible Pallone was unaware of what the Health Experts had to say.
I wouldn't sweat it!
